Kennewick Car Accidents

KENNEWICK, Wash. - Five car accidents were reported to police on Saturday and authorities said it is nothing out of the ordinary.

Kennewick Officer Lee Cooper has been working on the Traffic Unit for one week.

Cooper said, "A lot of times it's chaos, especially at collision scenes, especially at major intersections like Columbia Center Boulevard and Clearwater."

Cooper said, "We have to remind people to slow down and be patient and get there a little bit later and safe rather than not at all."

Police also said the population of the Tri-Cities is growing so rapidly that roads are becoming extremely congested.

Police said each year in the United States more officers are killed by traffic collisions or struck by motorists than by violence.

Cooper said, "I definitely feel less than safe. It's already a dangerous situation to be out at a busy intersection outside of a vehicle especially when people aren't following commands by officers and turning it into a free for all. That is a very dangerous situation for everyone."

According to the National Highway Transportation Administration, in 2005 there were more than 6 million police reported traffic crashes and 43,000 deaths.